Nuclear safety and safety analysis of a nuclear facility

In France, the official definition is given in Article L591-1 of the Environment Code, which reads as follows: "Nuclear safety is the set of technical and organizational measures relating to the design, construction, shutdown and decommissioning of basic nuclear installations, as well as to the transport of radioactive substances, taken with a view to preventing accidents or limiting their effects". In a broader sense, this includes the technical and organizational measures taken to ensure normal operation of installations without excessive release of radioactive effluents (gaseous and liquid) and without excessive exposure of workers to ionizing radiation, including during maintenance, inspection or repair operations.

Of course, it is the operator of a basic nuclear facility who is primarily responsible for its safety; in fact, it is he – and he alone – who is...